ladder or step?

[ottorogers]

X2 on the 3 step Little Giant. Bulky & heavier than ideal, but extremely stable with ample step surface. It will no doubt be used for bed assist some years ahead. Last in folded on floor, first out

I agree this is a very sturdy ladder, we own one, but it has it's drawbacks, especially when the ground is not level or wet, and always having to bring it out and put it back inside the camper gets old very fast (for us anyway)

 

[smlobx]

Another vote for the scissor steps.
Much easier to use when your hands are full when carrying things out or into your camper.

 

[bike4mee]

The scissor steps are the way. They are wide (makes it easy to descend at night, and when alcohol unsteady's you.) They only weigh 25 lbs. They are easy to place inside the door and deploy. You could also mount them outside, then just pull them open. The best is they are steady on uneven ground. Since they are attached to the camper you have an anchor point. Just place a block under a corner on uneven ground which is why we have 4wc, right? Seems like hitch stairs may get in the way on rough ground. They aren't very wide so you have to be pretty good at night. portable ladders would be nice to have for other things but on uneven ground??? I have tried them all and scissor steps are the way. Just sayin!

 

[rando]

I would argue for a compromise solution - the little giant ladder, cut in half and mounted to the camper like the scissor steps. You get the rigidity of being attached to the camper, but the stability of the larger and solid little giant steps. We tried out the scissor steps first, and found them to be less stable and heavier than we liked (25lbs vs about 5lbs). I did add adjustable legs to my little giant (repurposing parts from the 'safety handle') as we are often way off kilter. I am still not 100% pleased with attachment to the camper, so I will probably re spin that. but in general it works super well. On our flatbed we store it in a drawer under the tray, but I think it would fit in the center isle of the slide in campers.

http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/17056-entry-ladder-mark-i-rev-b/


For us, the hitch mount steps wouldn't work, primarily because we are side entry, but also because of the loss of departure angle (if we had a slide in). The hitch is already the lowest point in the back.

 

[Stokeme]

Yeah, scissor steps were my 2nd choice. I get the uneven ground, so far only a few shims needed 4 ladder, but I am a relative newbie. I share similar (Klahanie) issues with a heavy, fixed rear extension. If I have to remove in transit, a Little Giant can also multitask. (My bride is perfecting her bed dismount). My goal is no “kit” on the Camper floor. When we start our B & B-H do America, I will revisit the lighter, folding, compact alternative. From a purely medicinal standpoint one can become more unsteady as the temp drops. Nice idea with the above post & the LG steps, if I only had a skill. I will attempt some form of adjustable leg.

 

[bike4mee]

The ladder steps look great. You should market them. Especially with the adjustable legs for uneven ground.

 

[Karlton]

I use an Easy Hitch Step - and wrote about it here http://www.wanderthewest.com/forum/topic/14879-fwc-hitch-step-options/

It is a bit heavy, but not 70 lbs. The grated surface has great traction and knocks off mud and other debris. They are not inexpensive, tho.

That is actually my rig feature on the website homepage showing the 3 step option.

https://www.easyhitchstep.com/

 

[buckland]

Brophy hands down for me... tried bunch... small aluminum ladder, hitch steps, and finally the scissor steps...LOVE them.. easy relatively light...last in ... first out. Enter/exit the camper with ease..... I throw a bit of old carpet on them and the dog loves it... climbs right in.

 

[RicoV]

I ditto what Buckland says. Brophy scissor 3-stepper is the setup I finally adopted after other previous attempts.

 

[JaSAn]

Brophy receiver two step for me. Added plastic grass entry mat to the tread for the pup; collects a lot of dirt. And added a hitch stabilizer that Spud linked to (replaced nuts with wing nuts for fast install/removal). Last in, first out; rides on entry mat at door of camper.

Advantage: stable even when the ground under them is uneven.
Disadvantage: the first step can be long (3 step would be better).

jim

 

[la_morris]

The Little Giant is wide and stable enough for the dogs, up and down. If I'm alone, I don't bother with it.

 

[FoxenTec]

We tried a variety of steps including a short plastic step which we still use when the camper is at home for quick access, hitch receiver 2-step and finally this Little Giant 3-Step with the supports removed by cutting them off. Fairly light for how sturdy it is. The steps are so solid, that you just walk out and do not need to hold on to the camper grab handle. Also in picture is our swing out hitch carrier (SwingAway2 brand) with the basket attached. We also have a four bike rack that attaches to the carrier when needed.

 

[K7MDL]

I had custom steps made this week taking inspiration from various threads here.

Used a hitch extender with steel pipe welded on top. 2 steel platforms were built, one small, one large enough to attach scissor steps. Each has a pipe welded to the bottom and fits in the hitch extender pipe. A nut is welded on each pipe with a 3/8" bolt that clamps it. The round tube permits the steps to be rotated to be used straight on or angled about 45degrees to clear a trailer tongue. The ground to door threshold height is 37", too high for my wife to climb into. The 30" Brophy scissor steps used are about 7" per step.

I use the small step with a bolt-on ball mount step when wife is not along, or the whole thing is removed and i just use the bumper step.

A tailgate replacement camera is mounted under the camper edge on centerline and can see fine over the steps.

I used wide 3M non-slip tape.

 

[UncleDougie]

Super cool setup. Nice work K7MDL.

 

[smlobx]

I agree! That is a nice hybrid set up that should work in just about any application.